Page 121 of My Merry Mistake
She shrugs. “I don’t really care about those things.” She starts toward the Jeep. “I just need to figure out how to help with the presents.” She looks at me. “For my mom.”
I nod, knowing how hard it is to carry the kind of weight she’s carrying. I took on the weight of watching over my sisters and being my mom’s second-in-command even though she never asked me to.
When I look at this little girl, though, I see how misguided that was. How do I steer her in a different direction when I’m struggling to find the oars myself?
I watch as Grace gets into the backseat and helps Bodie buckle in, pushing his hands out of the way when he tries to help. She just does it herself. She doesn’t need help.
That’s familiar.
“Hey, Hart?”
I glance over and find Finn watching me. When our eyes meet, his brow knits in concern.
“All good?”
I pull my sunglasses off my head and put them on my face with a nod. But no, I’m not good. Not really. Because if all of these revelations are the truth, then I’ve got some soul-searching to do.
And I have no idea what comes next.
Chapter Thirty
Raya
This is going to be an uphill climb.
I sit like a statue in the passenger seat of Finn’s Jeep, listening to Bodie rattle off the list of things he’s going to tell Santa he wants for Christmas. I look at Grace and find her watching him intently—and I know she’s taking notes, probably so she can try to make some of these wishes come true.
In a lull, Finn tosses me a look. “No Justin today?”
“Uh, no.” My muscles tense. “We’re not really a thing anymore. My sisters didn’t tell you?”
His forehead creases. “No, they didn’t. Are you okay?”
I smile. “I’m fine. It wasn’t serious.”Or real.
Whatever Finn thinks about this, he doesn’t say, and after a beat, he’s back to his usual antics.
“Attention, passengers! I have an idea!” he announces—loudly. “Today you all have a mission.” He shoots me a look, as if to make sure I know I’m not exempt from whatever it is he’s about to say.
“Like spies?” Brady asks.
“Eh. Sort of.” Finn pulls a face. “More like explorers. Today, the only thing on our to-do list is”—he drums his hands on the steering wheel—“fun!”
The boys let out a whooping cheer. Neither Grace nor I respond.
“None of us have ever done a Loveland Christmas kickoff, Hart,” he says, nodding at me. “So you are going to be the Master of Fun for the day.”
“Me?”
“Yep.”
“I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m wrong for that job,” I say.
“But you have the insider info.”
“I really don’t.”
He frowns, then shakes his head. “Oh, Hart, you really need to hang around me more often. I can show you how to have a good time. Lesson starts now.”
